UNFPA, ‘Menstrual Hygiene Management among LGBTI Refugees in Türkiye’, 2022
- Category: Reports
- Source: UNHCR, Other
- Subject: Sexual Orientation/Sexuality, Gender Identity, Intersex, Refugee/Asylum
- Place: Other
- Year: 2022
- File: MHM LGBTI Assessment_ENG
- URL: https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/99333
UNFPA, ‘Menstrual Hygiene Management among LGBTI Refugees in Türkiye’, December 2022 [EN/TR]
Also available here.
Introduction
As the number of people displaced as a consequence of conflicts, violence, and oppression keeps rising around the globe, Türkiye continues to be home to the world’s largest refugee population. In response to mass migration, the government of Türkiye has provided Syrian refugees with temporary protection status and foreign nationals from other countries with international protection status. Türkiye is home to nearly 3.6 million Syrian refugees as well as 320,000 refugees from other countries.
Refugees are one of the most disadvantaged groups within the population. Forced to leave their homeland to pursue the dream of having a better and safer future, refugees may face racism, xenophobia, and discrimination in the destination country. Among refugees, LGBTI people 2 , are one of the most vulnerable groups living in Türkiye due to stigmatisation, discrimination, and gender-based violence (GBV) because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. 3 Poor awareness and prejudices among service providers regarding the specialised needs of LGBTI people cause them to face discrimination and stigmatisation based on their gender identity and orientation. In addition, extreme poverty adversely affects their capacity to lead a dignified life and cope with risks in their daily life.
While menstruation is a matter at the heart of discussions over civil engagement and gender equality, the number of studies about LGBTI people, particularly trans men, is highly limited. As menstruation is regarded merely as “a cisgender woman’s problem”, the access of LGBTI people to adequate healthcare services is put at risk and even left unaddressed. 4 Therefore, it is extremely important to use the term “menstruator” more often to cover trans people who were assigned female at birth and those who do not fit the binary gender system in the academic community, mass media, and grey literature. 5 This term was first used in a newspaper in an interview published by The New York Times in January 2022 and it is billed as a trailblazing case for change.
Menstruators or “those who menstruate” are a more comprehensive concept, as it includes trans men who menstruate and persons who do not fit the binary gender system. These concepts take into account the experiences of women who do not menstruate due to hormonal or anatomic causes. Thus it also refers to various experiences of femininity which are disregarded because of conventional feminine roles. Considering women are menstruating as default puts menstruation at the heart of women’s identities. In addition, this disregards trans men and cisgender women who do not menstruate. Dissociation of gender identity from menstruation causes it to be regarded simply as a biological process and removes sexist myths. The fact that this matter has been addressed only as a women’s issue for many years has also created a barrier for researchers interested in gaining insight into it, and it has not been considered important by donors. That is why menstrual hygiene management for LGBTI people is a matter typically ignored as a part of healthcare services and not incorporated into public health strategies. However, addressing the matter this way is a major step towards menstrual equality. Menstrual equality includes systematic and preventable inequalities in access to healthcare services, education, and information as well as experiences of stigmatisation and discrimination.
Social taboos and lack of access to sanitary materials and means of infrastructure during menstruation adversely affect people’s quality of life. 7 This is even more evident for LGBTI people. Lack of competence of healthcare service providers regarding the needs of LGBTI people, improper design of public toilets, namely unlockable cabin doors and lack of in-cabin disposal bins for menstrual products, and social dynamics of public toilets, namely workplace and school environments, have been identified as barriers in menstrual management. 8 The studies on this matter are typically focused on addressing barriers faced by cisgender women and girls in low- and middle-income countries. The number of studies on the analysis of menstrual management needs of trans people who were assigned female at birth and those who do not fit the gender binary is highly limited. The gap in understanding the needs of LGBTI refugees regarding menstrual hygiene management is even larger. Little is known about the barriers faced by the members of this community regarding the start of menstruation and its management afterwards.
UNFPA continues to take actions for advocacy and capacity building in cooperation with various public agencies and organisations to mitigate such barriers to access to fundamental services. Key refugee groups (KRG) in Türkiye have been provided with dedicated services since January 2018 through seven service units operating in six provinces under the “Increasing the Access of the Most Vulnerable Groups to Protection Services in Türkiye Project” financed by the European Union Humanitarian Aid in partnership with the Positive Living Association and the Red Umbrella Sexual Health and Human Rights Association. The KRG service units provide individual services, including information counselling, legal counselling, psychosocial support, HIV counselling, gender-based violence (GBV) case management, and group services (such as awareness-raising and Share & Care activities). In addition, one-off and short-term cash support is provided to mitigate the protection risks for the target groups as part of the case interventions. Referrals and accompanying beneficiaries to institutions contribute to decrease key refugee groups’ access to public services. Beneficiaries are able to contact the services via a support line that operates 24/7 in four languages (Arabic, Farsi, English, and Turkish).